>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small

businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> this is bbc world news america. amid the seas -- amid talk of a cease-fire in syria or on the ground the death toll continues to rise. and the female factor, as each side tries to win the vote. we find out what is driving the decision. and want an inventor? we have just a place for you. you have to be ready for a trip -- want an adventure? we have just the place for you. you have to be ready for a trip to afghanistan. welcome to our viewers on public

television in america and also of around the globe. tonight, the syrian government is studying a proposal for the a cease-fire to take place this weekend. earlier, the u.n. posing mediator said a truce -- the u.n. mediator said a truce had actually been agreed to. here is this report. >> in rebel-held northern syria, the danger comes before -- comes from above. the regime still rules the sky inand ra terror with indiscriminate bombing. this was a secondary school until age -- until the government bombed it. >> the fighter jets attacked. then they went away. then they came back again. they have just cornered on both sides.

>> few days passed without a funeral. machine-gun fire at a plane as he drove his car through the town. suddenly, the mourners attention turns to the sky. and lest things change course, they too are threatened with death. on the ground, there are syrian soldiers of government and guard the town now. there are farmers, tailors, electricians, and determined to bring social justice to syria. >> the new syria will be a syria without corruption, without bribery. we are not going to have a system like under the old regime where everyone is corrupt. >> but will the new syria and keep women in seclusion?

>> this remains a deeply conservative islamic society, even after years of will by the baath party. many are afraid that if and when the regime collapses another fight will break out as one side of the country decides to impose its it by you on others. the west has refused to arm the web -- the rebels as it fears the weapons could fall under extremists and. here they say those fears are baseless. they are moderates. >> it is up to the west and the rest of the world what we will do with assad. for the west not helping, that is creating extremists. >> this place has seen so much

martyrdom, no one is sure how long talks of reconciliation can survive. the what they are sure of is more death. so sure, they now big graves in advance, the victims on known. -- and now david graves in advance, the victims unknown. >> the u.s. ambassador in damascus joins us. thank you. >> my pleasure. >> the last cease-fire never really existed. is there any reason to think this will be different? >> the trend in hund -- the trend in syria has been very negative. neither side believes the other will honor a cease-fire. i am pretty sure that both sides think the other will gain advantage from it. even if they agree to it from -- agree to it nominally, i have little confidence it will take hold, even four days. >> live with the syrian

government agree to it? >> they might agree to it because their russian and chinese patrons have joined the un in calling for the cease- fire. they do not want to be blamed as the ones who refuse or obstructed it. and it is always possible to manufacture an incident. and there is a splinter-like group that has already said it is a filthy idea and they will not go along with it. >> what could it look like politically in syria? >> you have to be willing to sit down with your enemies. of the opposition has ruled out sitting down with assad and the western powers are also not in favor of him being at the negotiations. and for his part, assad wants to hand pick apart a a a -- handpick people he will negotiate with.

at this point, it actually gets worse. >> even if the regime were to fall, what would follow? >> i do not think that the fall of assad will lead to peace in syria. i'm not saying that he won't or should not fall, rebecca point, we will start to see factionalism and maybe even opposition groups fighting each other even as they fight the remnants of the army and pro- assad militias. >> what about the west joining in an army and rebels? >> it is hard to know prior to the presidential election. i do not expect the obama administration to do anything they have not done up to this point. if romney is elected, he talked about forming some of the elements of the opposition. but small arms are not a problem right now for the

opposition. training them to use larger weapons takes time and territory on which to do it. >> thank you for joining us. now to the gaza strip, where there has been a sharp increase in violence in the last few days. israel said the militants they hit recently were hit as they prepared to fire rockets into israel. here is a report. >> anger and grief in gaza. these hamas fighters were killed by israeli air strikes as they tried to fire rockets and mortars a across the border. even as the funerals were taking place, we found more attacks being launched. hamas said it was responding to israeli aggression. >> this is a dangerous escalation. it comes after israeli threats to target the strip.

the israelis want to disrupt the atmosphere. they want to achieve political and electoral gains ahead of the coming israeli elections. >> israel managed to shoot down some of the rockets with its designer defense shield. it's military power is far superior. but some god -- some got through, causing hammond -- causing damage and injury. >> we did not choose this escalation, nor did we initiated. but if it continues, we are prepared for a wider fight. anyone hurting israel should know that he will be made to pay for his actions. >> the violence here between israel and gaza has been going on for years. this complex has been struck dozens of times, most recently in the last few weeks.

this latest escalation is a reminder that the conflict has not gone away. and it comes at a time when there is no progress in the middle east peace process. there are few optimists on either side. the last direct u.s.-led peace talks collapsed in 2010. two years later, as president obama fights for the white house, the issue is not on the agenda. palestinians were barely mentioned in this week's presidential debate on foreign policy. the current violence in and around gaza and may well quiet them down. but today's funerals are unlikely to be the last. at some point, there will be more israeli air strikes and more palestinian rockets. the middle east posing most intractable conflict -- the middle east's most intractable conflict remains unsolved. >> an unofficial cease-fire has been reached with hamas. a source within the palestinian

group says a truce will begin midnight local time 13 days to go until the u.s. chooses the next president. each side is trying to get an all-important women's vote. what is driving their decision? steve kingston went to denver, colorado to find out. >> the breathtaking fall splendor of the rocky mountains. in his foothills sit the mile high city. the beating heart of a critical swing states, a state where women voters outnumber men by more than 100,000. >> my name is rebecca. i am a single mother with three teenage children. >> i am catherine. my husband is working two jobs while i stay home and take care of my 2-year-old daughter, charlotte. >> women on a budget come to

this giant retailer for a no- frills convenience. the cards are used to have a corporate job. the right after she was born i was laid off we went from having a lot of money to not nearly as much money. >> bill clinton famous huizar -- famously targets of bombs. sarah palin rallied hockey mom spirit of the 2012 variation on that group could decide the outcome. that is because in elections wal-mart moms intend to make up their minds late. as rebecca cut back on spending, she wants a president who will do the same. >> we have to look at where our budget is. how do we fix it? how do we get it back on the right track?

because it is a mess. >> at catherine's house it is breakfast time and there is a helping of negative political ads. >> i just get exhausted from hearing both sides tell me, vote for me, just because the of this side is so bad and so rotten and so awful. nobody says, here is what i can do for you. >> what they share is a sense of frustration with both campaigns. the time has come to make a decision. >> the final stretch. to tell me who you are leaning toward ny. >> i am leaning toward barack obama again. just because i know what we are going to get with him and i do not know we will get with mitt romney. >> i know what we are going to get with obama and i do not like it. i'm going to vote for mitt romney. >> polls suggest that the president's lead among women is

slipping as both sides prepared to make a final pitch. >> more on the women who could end up making -- in deciding this election. our next guest joins us from new york. kelly, why is it that so many voters are undecided at this point? >> we need to get all the facts and all the information. traditionally, in every presidential season, women are the lake insiders -- the late the ciders. they wait until the very end. these are the one in, a wal-mart moms, the suburban moms, many of them who voted for president obama in 2008 and are not sure if they are going to vote for him again. they are weighing a lot of factors -- the economy, social issues, international affairs --

before coming up with a decision. >> what is the most important part of that wavering group, do you think? >> it sort of depends on who you talk to. president obama hasn't enjoyed it very strongly when it comes to female voters -- has enjoyed a very strongly when it comes to female voters over most of the year. in the last debate, president -- mitt romney seemed more moderate and was talking about the economy. that seems to be working in his favor. at the same time, president obama has continued to pound the social issues, talking about federal funding for planned parenthood, contraception, things where they can score points with women who are unsure what president romney would do if he were to win. >> aunt at having a candidate

who says that if a woman gets pregnant during a break that it is god intended. that is not very helpful for mitt romney. >> that is partly why democrats have been enjoying such a dramatic lead when it comes to women. it comes down to the individual woman. is she going to decide more on the economy? will she want to give mitt romney a shot because he may do something different? or will it come down to the social issues? it is an individual choice. but campaigns are trying everything they can at women. >> including shala and obama. how important -- including michelle obama. how important are the candidates' wives at wooing the woman vote?

>> off the charts. that is why michelle obama has been on every woman programming show. and mitt romney's wife is doing the same thing. many view the candidates' wives as better campaigners, better campaigners and connectors to these middle-class women down their husbands. you will see them continuing to do what they do, both to rally their respective bases, but again, to try to convince the undecided women to go with their husbands. >> kelly, thank you still to come on tonight's program, if you think u.s. policy is a slugfest, we will take you to the ukraine where an aunt -- where a fighter is now fighting for his party. an historic agreement on protecting the huge antarctic can hardly be reached in the next week. there are still differences over how to protect this unique

ecosystem. >> there is nowhere else on earth like it. the antarctic, home to paint with, wales, and seals, it has been described as the most perfect ecosystem on the planet. dozens of countries and organizations are meeting in a cavity in city to discuss its future. -- in a tasmania and city to discuss its future. but there are already differences over how to protect it. the organizers say there are many conflicting interests. >> there are different interests. you have the balance, of course. >> it has taken decades of research to finalize proposals, all against what experts say is the backdrop of climate change.

>> it is too early in this meeting to determine how well negotiations will go. >> the idea is not to ban activities like fishing, but to manage it. the environment is protected at all costs. the area being talked about is 4,000 kilometers below where i am in australia. it might seem far away and not important, but what we are talking about is around 2 million square kilometers of the most pristine area on the planet. >> the meeting in tasmania will last a week. it is not long enough to decide the future of this unique and vulnerable assets. >> we have often heard that politics is a contact sport. this weekend, a champion boxer is leading one of the opposition

parties in the ukraine parliamentary elections. it even more interesting, another opposition leader is the imprisoned bitter foe of the country's president. here is a report on what is at stake. >> it is the reigning heavyweight boxing champion who has shaken up this campaign. he and his party have fought their way to second place in the polls with a promise to be to rampant institutional corruption and strengthen ties with -- to be to rampant institutional corruption and strengthen ties with europe. >> everybody wants to live in a democracy with european alliances. >> this could be the moment when the ukraine chooses between continuing on the path to democracy and joining the european union or the moment

when it goes back toward what could be seen as a more russian- style of politics. for example, the best known opposition figure is missing from the election campaign. she is a prisoner. as supporters have pointed out, there are bars on the windows of a hospital where she is being treated for a bad back while still being detained. occasionally, prison videos like this emerge. she is protesting about the limited access to visitors. her family maintains that her imprisonment was ordered by her rival. >> it is clear that he wants a building up of this dictatorship that he is building, to be free of political opponents. >> the president and prime

minister defended the accord that jailed the opponent. >> the image she cause and up to $5 billion a year -- the damage she caused adds up to $5 billion a year. i'm sure that the british system would have come to similar conclusions have the british prime minister caused such auge amount of damage. >> it is being painted as a battle for the soul of the ukraine. years ago it chose the democratic path. but now with state dominated prisons and tv, it is starting to feel more like russia again. >> now to stunning scenery, pristine lakes, and breathtaking views. it sounds like a destination travelers would flock to. it might surprise you to find

out this picturesque beauty is found in afghanistan of all places. the country is hoping its first- ever national park will entice visitors. >> a view of afghanistan you hardly ever see. the high mountain lakes are its first-ever national park. in this remote region, the biggest threat is not the taliban, but drought and overuse of the land. climate change is making it worse. they come with the united nations for launch of its first environmental protection plan. >> it is life. when i talk about how beautiful this mountain and this valley are, i say, think about that.

we are helping our children. >> to encourage them, local people are offering cleaner workings -- cooking stoves and fuel. they tell me they can see the long-term benefits. >> we hope the government will help us, the village head says, because protecting the environment will also help to bring tourists here. it is hoped this could become one of the main tourist attractions. the remains of ancient buddhas blown up by the taliban months before the 9/11 attacks. now it is a unesco world heritage site. the other jewel in this future tourist crown if peace can return, pristine waters that could attract visitors from around the world. >> there is so much and doom and gloom about afghanistan. no one would have believed 20

years ago that cambodia would have become a huge tourist destination. and it takes a leap of imagination to think that and afghanistan will do the same, but that is what is doing -- it is doing here. >> one view is that this is a country of about war. but it is also a country of incredible sites, such as tear of its first-ever national park. the plan is to create many more. for afghans, this is a sacred place. they believe the waters have healing properties. perhaps one day, these lakes can help heal afghanistan, too. bbc news. >> a view of afghanistan you do not very often see. that brings today's show to a close. you can find constant updates on our website. and to reach me, go to twitter. you can find us at -- a lin

thank you for watching and please tune in tomorrow. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global

network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.